Chasing wheels

Argh, it's an itch I can't scratch - I've been caught up in the rush to try cyclocross and I'm trying to resist buying another bike. I can't afford it (I've just impulse bought a new SRAM Rival groupset for my other road bike) but I really fancy having a crack at the wintery fun.

An hour thrashing around an offroad course on a road bike sounds like an ideal way to keep the enthusiasm and fitness going over the winter. Quite a few people I've ridden with this season are giving it a try and they're all raving about it. The getting a bit filthy, improving your bike handling, falling off and having fun are just the sort of thing I enjoy.

I missed out on a frame on Ebay by 15 quid at the weekend which would have persuaded me into it. Now I can't find one anywhere. Ideally it's a hack job - spend as little as possible to get up and running - so I'm now tihnking of looking for a 700c hybrid frame with V-brakes that I can cannabalise. The V-brake bosses should allow me to get cantilever brakes on if I need to and the 700c spacing should allow me to swap on a pair of road wheels. With a bit of luck it will have an 8-speed block and I can thrown my Sora shifters at it and an old bar.

It's going to be a disaster isn't it?